ORLANDO Fla. (Reuters) - More than one-third of adults in
England have pre-diabetes, putting the country nearly on par
with rates in the United States, according to a study released
this week.

The pre-diabetes rate among English adults rose sharply from
about 12 percent in 2003 to 35 percent in 2011, according to the
study headed by Arch Mainous, a professor in the University of
Florida's College of Public Health and Health Professions.

That compares to 36 percent of U.S. adults who are
pre-diabetic, Mainous said.

"It came as a surprise to us," said Mainous. "I think it
came as a surprise to them."

Mainous's co-author on the study, Dr. Richard Baker,
professor of quality in healthcare at the University of
Leicester, said the results should be taken as a wake-up call.

"The study is an important signal that we need to take
action to improve our diet and lifestyles," Baker said in a
statement. "If we don't, many people will have less healthy,
shorter lives."

Pre-diabetes is defined as blood glucose concentrations
higher than normal, but not high enough for a diabetes
diagnosis, according to the University of Florida.

Pre-diabetics are at greater risk for vascular problems,
kidney disease and nerve and retinal damage. Between 5 and 10
percent of pre-diabetics transition to diabetes each year.

Mainous said the cause of the sharp rise in pre-diabetes is
uncertain but likely related to a jump in obesity in England in
the 1990s, a trend that began later than the obesity crisis in
America.

"They were a little slower to get as fat," Mainous said.

He said metabolic changes due to obesity and a sedentary
lifestyle are strongly linked to pre-diabetes.

The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, analyzed data
collected in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2011 by the Health Survey for
England.

More than half of overweight English adults age 40 and older
are pre-diabetic, the study found.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported
on Tuesday that the number of American adults with diabetes has
soared to 29 million, with another 86 million at high risk of
developing the chronic disease.

If the trends continue, federal health officials predicted
that one in five Americans could have diabetes by 2025 - and one
in three by 2050.